The President may indeed in one respect resemble the commander of an army in peace, but in another and more essential sense he resembles the commander of a ship at sea. He must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, a port to seek. He must sooner or later be convinced that a perpetual calm is as little to his purpose as a perpetual hurricane, and that without headway the ship can arrive nowhere.
Edward Hoagland
Henry David Thoreau, who never earned much of a living or sustained a relationship with any woman that wasn't brotherly -- who lived mostly under his parents' roof. . . who advocated one day's work and six days "off" as the weekly round and was considered a bit of a fool in his hometown. . . is probably the American writer who tells us best how to live comfortably with our most constant companion, ourselves.
